Given enough time, even the teeth of sharks can be ground up
and become part of the substance we call sand.
How can the color and texture be so varied as we travel
from one beach to another? The source of the sand and
the action of the surrounding waters make the
difference. In Florida, we can usually see three main
groups:
Brown sand-comes mainly from crushed shell material.
Found at St. George Island, Turtle Beach on Siesta Key,
and in the Keys.
Black sand- made up of ground-up fossils, sharks'
teeth, bone, etc. (in other parts of the world it comes
from volcanic rock).
White sand- composed of gypsum and quartz. Here at
Fort De Soto we have WHITE SAND rated in the top 10 in
the world by Dr. Beach. Other beaches with sugar sand
are Siesta Key, Panama City, Fort Walton Beach and
others in the Panhandle.
Sometimes you can find sand in strange forms. This
is a sand collar, created out of sand and slime when
the moon snail lays her eggs.
Surprisingly, white sand can
be found along Hwy 27 inland where ancient seashores
once were. It also can be found near Sarasota and
Sebring. Quartz is formed by volcanic activity.
White sand now found in Florida was originally formed in the
Appalachian Mountains and washed down centuries ago.
Sylvia Ellis, Volunteer Nature Guide
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